My bad,I just feel a man of your means could make better use of both time and money. A trip to the Yellowstone area would give you both the opportunity to turkey hunt as well as enjoying the western cultures of Cody's museums and restaurants. In other words the best of both worlds in an area where you are far less likely to become a victim.

With the rise in the deer population and the low cost it is to hunt up here, this is a common story I hear way too many times. There are outfitters popping up all over the place up here who don't know a thing about deer hunting. I personally know one guy who shot the biggest buck of his life from the road, a 2.5 yr old 8 pt, and the next year he starts a guiding buisness. There are some good ones, but like anywhere else, you have to pay better money for them.

Sorry you had a bad experience Mike.

It is like when I was really into bass fishing and fishing in general for about ten years between ages 15-25. I caught a decent amount of big bass for the waters I fished. Probably 8-10 citation largemouths and a citation smallmouth, citation gar, crappie, bluegill. I always dreamed of going to Florida or something and catching a 15 pound bass if I put in the time. But then I would always go back and think, wouldn't it be more satisfying to catch a 10 pounder on my own turf? The answer for me was always yes. I had no desire to travel, just work harder on my own lakes and rivers here in Virginia.

early in--"I'm more than happy with my accomplishments as a bowhunter in Pa at thispoint in my life. I'm just seeking a giant buck that I don't think I'll kill in Pa."

Go get that big buck and I want to see the picture when you do!

I love to travel and I love to hunt so when I have the money to do so I take full advantage. I am in it more to hunt different animals then the opportunity to take a trophy so I cannot see myself forking over the big bucks for a big buck. When I do go out of town and hunt a new animal I think I will always use a guide to get familiar with the habits of the animal and tolearn from a vetran. I love DIY hunts but not for the first time in a new area on a new animal.

Damn...a misconception and some unsolicited advice all in one sentence....lol.

More unsolicited "advice".....and another misconception (I've been there).

I didn't start this thread to tell anyone how to do anything. I asked them "why". If you have something to add to that....I'd love to hear it. The advice I coud do without.....especially when it's designed to make me look silly.

You have no idea of how I travel....and the parts of Mexico you go to are undoubtedly different than the ones I go to. I'm guessing your idea of "fun" and mine differs, greatly, too. Keep having your own "fun", Jim. Kudos.

Great analogy, Brett....and I feel the same (which is not "right" or "wrong").

Thanks.

Like I said, there are others who do it for the friendship and I don't begrudge that. I would love to go hunt somewhere else just to spend time with a friend. I concur that most of the wealthy that are only looking for a trophy to hang on the wall go to "Hunting Clubs" or "Private Wildlife Clubs" and all they are interested in is the mount. A few years ago, I found the carcasses of 8 deer with the only thing missing was the head and cape. Unfortunately for the offender(s), one had dropped a piece of mail where they dumped the bodies. DNR took care of the rest. Then, early this spring, while there was still snow of the ground, I found 8 deer that had been shot and left to die. I know who did it, and their idea of hunting is if you shoot it and it doesn't die immediately, don't spend time tracking it unless it was a trophy, and their other view of theirs is if it dies in an area where it will be difficult to drag it out, leave it for other wildlife to chew on, there are more deer out there. I personally take offense to people who do that and there are many of them. The least a trophy hunter could do is donate the meat to feed the needy. Some do, but many don't. Oh Crap! I am digressing from the subject of the thread, so I'll get off the soapbox.

I don’t think there is anything wrong at all to leave home to hunt better quality animals than the ones your herd carries. Sometimes it could even be a matter of hunting a more quality “herd” as opposed to individual animals. Better buck:doe ratios and age structure could make for an entertaining rut compared to one with boatloads of does, and big boys as common as “the Kings” numbers point out.
If I didn’t have such a desire to hunt other species, I would certainly shift my trip focus to hunting better places for whitetails.

If I went to the midwest and killed a big buck and you ask me what have I done. I’d say I put myself in a position that gave me a greater chance to shoot a big deer, no more, no less.

It doesn’t always have to be about the “meaning” behind the animal. Sometimes you just want a chance to hunt the biggest of a species in prime habitat.

I can putz around fishing in my little creeks around home for a nice bass that might go 3#, or I can book a charter up in Erie and land dozens of fish over 4# some hitting 6-7#. Either way, I am bass fishing and having fun, and could care less the meaning behind each trip.

When I read something like this, it can only lead me to believe that the proper background check/research was not done.[:@] It's sooo important to talk with hunters (successful and not) who have hunted with any guide/outfitter you plan on using. Ask for answers to all of the questions you might have reguarding the hunt, lodging, food, transportation, tags, # of guides, time in the woods, success rate, and so on. It's as important as where you go to hunt.

I have some thoughts on this,

First a little history

When I moved to NC in 97, I did not know anyone, knew nothing about the hunting or anything of the such, But I knew that I was going hunting, as i had done every season in Fla for years. So I contacted an outfitter,charged me $500 for three days of hunting and I went around my birthday(it's how I remembered the dates). Never shot anything with a rifle at this point but owned them for years, had several bowkills under my belt. Anyhow hunted the first day- no deer sighted, hunted the 2nd day killed a large 9 point, the 2nd morning crossing a road, threw the rifle up put the crosshairs on him bam, the next day and half - no more deer sighted - this deer is mounted on my wall-

Now fast forward - as I became more familiar with Land and hunting strategies my focus became on learning about the deer and determining how to set-up which landed me nice bucks in 04, 05, 06 (my biggest with anything-bowkill) I also took a nice buck in 06 with a rifle. So two nice bucks in the same year.

So what does all of this mean
Well the buck I got in o6 is a lot more special than the outfitter buck becuase I found him, I did the work and i got him with my bow

Now to answer your question,
I want to go to the Milk river and hunt whitetails and also to North Dakota- the reason I haven't is I haven't found someone to go with- so I think my answer would be the trip would be worth it for the companionship, but the trophy would not necessarily mean anything more to me than the ones I have taken here - I also have a hard time spending the cash - when a big ole slickhead here means a helluva lot to me

I use to make the trip out to Wisconsin every year but as of late I haven't. I have yet to bag myself a deer out there, that state has kicked my ass for some reason and I just have terrible luck out there. We (our little group) have shot one P&Y buck out there so far, we should of had more with all the close calls we had. Money wise it didn't cost much besides the gas out there and the license fee. We go out there to shoot big bucks, the state is loaded with them, but we also go out there to get some deer meat also. The money that some of you spend on your bow set ups is unbelievable but yet you say you can't justify going on a non resident hunt, that to me makes no sense at all!